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chrisb913's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book had me hooked beginning, middle, and end. Aiden Thomas did a remarkable job with the characters, plot, world building and every aspect of this story. I look forward to reading the sequel and everything else Thomas writes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death of parent, and Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Animal death, and Car accident
hexagonal_flowers's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Transphobia
Minor: Car accident, Murder, Deadnaming, Racism, Torture, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
corsetedfeminist's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My only complaint about this book is that there isn’t a series with 35 books coming after it.
This book manages to be extremely gay and extremely Latinx, all at once, in an explosion of culture and magic that I couldn’t help but fall in love with.
The story is unpredictable and heartfelt all at the same time- I literally squealed at one particular plot point.
It also deals with very well with what it’s like to not be a straight, cisgendered person in a culture and religion that is strongly gendered, with the realistic amount of resultant angst and a heartwarming conclusion.
The romance is literally perfect, featuring what I can only describe as the human embodiment of a pitbull (looks imposing, but is actually just a hyper squish) and sensitive but stubborn main character who I immediately loved.
The girl best friend is probably one of my favorite sidekicks of all time- tiny pink haired girl with two massive pitbulls and a long suffering mom friend vibe only defeated by her love for mischief.
In short, I have no idea why this book isn’t more popular than it is- it’s a perfect YA book, both for lots of Latinx representation and for the queer representation.
This book manages to be extremely gay and extremely Latinx, all at once, in an explosion of culture and magic that I couldn’t help but fall in love with.
The story is unpredictable and heartfelt all at the same time- I literally squealed at one particular plot point.
It also deals with very well with what it’s like to not be a straight, cisgendered person in a culture and religion that is strongly gendered, with the realistic amount of resultant angst and a heartwarming conclusion.
The romance is literally perfect, featuring what I can only describe as the human embodiment of a pitbull (looks imposing, but is actually just a hyper squish) and sensitive but stubborn main character who I immediately loved.
The girl best friend is probably one of my favorite sidekicks of all time- tiny pink haired girl with two massive pitbulls and a long suffering mom friend vibe only defeated by her love for mischief.
In short, I have no idea why this book isn’t more popular than it is- it’s a perfect YA book, both for lots of Latinx representation and for the queer representation.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Blood, Violence, Homophobia, Racism, and Transphobia
Minor: Deportation
jei_reads_sometimes's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Death of parent, Child death, Grief, Death, and Murder
malleykde's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Transphobia
Moderate: Death of parent
tovetott's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I'm in Spain without the S. But in Eastern LA lol.
This is the second book I've read by Aiden Thomas, and I can't believe I was tricked into thinking it WOULDN'T take a dark turn AGAIN by the wholesome, sweet buildup and the lovable characters. 😭 I'm onto you now, though, Thomas! You're not getting me next time !! 😭
Absolutely loved the story, and the queer and trans rep was really well done and felt like it elevated the story in a really, really cool way. I loved the way things were foreshadowed (I managed to figure it out about halfway through without the book being obvious about it) AND EVEN STILL it had me gasping at the end because of twists I didn't see coming.
The ONLY THINGS pulling down the score from a full 5 stars for me is the writing itself feeling a lil ?? Idk how to put it but the prose is not as "artsy" as I'd like a 5-star book to be? Does that make sense? This might also have been an expectation I applied myself after all the good things I'd heard about this book, and it just didn't quite live up to what I had in mind hsjdbbd
The second thing knocking this down SLIGHTLY is the way the dark twist is REALLY DARK in contrast to how lighthearted the rest of the book is (I had the same reaction with 'Lost In The Never Woods' even though I ofc absolutely LOVED it still!!). It's definitely a style choice but it really threw me off balance this time too.
All in all, I had a great time! I loved all the Spanish dialogue (and accents !!!) and mexican culture references and mythology etc about Día de Muertos! It was weaved in so seamlessly into the story and I loved it (even though my frantic googling and translating and pronounciation guides LOL)
Julian and Yadriel's stories will live with me for a long time, precious lil beans 🥺🥺🩷✨️🩷✨️🩷
This is the second book I've read by Aiden Thomas, and I can't believe I was tricked into thinking it WOULDN'T take a dark turn AGAIN by the wholesome, sweet buildup and the lovable characters. 😭 I'm onto you now, though, Thomas! You're not getting me next time !! 😭
Absolutely loved the story, and the queer and trans rep was really well done and felt like it elevated the story in a really, really cool way. I loved the way things were foreshadowed (I managed to figure it out about halfway through without the book being obvious about it) AND EVEN STILL it had me gasping at the end because of twists I didn't see coming.
The ONLY THINGS pulling down the score from a full 5 stars for me is the writing itself feeling a lil ?? Idk how to put it but the prose is not as "artsy" as I'd like a 5-star book to be? Does that make sense? This might also have been an expectation I applied myself after all the good things I'd heard about this book, and it just didn't quite live up to what I had in mind hsjdbbd
The second thing knocking this down SLIGHTLY is the way the dark twist is REALLY DARK in contrast to how lighthearted the rest of the book is (I had the same reaction with 'Lost In The Never Woods' even though I ofc absolutely LOVED it still!!). It's definitely a style choice but it really threw me off balance this time too.
All in all, I had a great time! I loved all the Spanish dialogue (and accents !!!) and mexican culture references and mythology etc about Día de Muertos! It was weaved in so seamlessly into the story and I loved it (even though my frantic googling and translating and pronounciation guides LOL)
Julian and Yadriel's stories will live with me for a long time, precious lil beans 🥺🥺🩷✨️🩷✨️🩷
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Transphobia, and Violence
toastedoats42's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Great listen on audiobook! It's a super interesting world and concept and, while I predicted some of the things that happened, there were twists ai hadn't expected and kept the whole thing fresh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Grief
Moderate: Murder, Abandonment, Deadnaming, Kidnapping, and Violence
erikagibson126's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child death, Death, Transphobia, Violence, Murder, and Death of parent
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Alcohol, Animal death, Classism, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Dysphoria
Minor: Deadnaming, Drug use, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Confinement, Deportation, Physical abuse, Medical content, Cursing, Gore, Outing, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Abandonment
kynaeus's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A little bit of a predictable antagotwist but this was still a great read. Trans-centric, murder mystery, latiné cultures front and center, and a happy ending of trans love? Yay. I'll take a little predictability if it means we get this too!
On and GREAT worldbuilding. Love the setup for a possible second book
On and GREAT worldbuilding. Love the setup for a possible second book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia
Moderate: Grief, Deportation, Death, and Outing
lastcomment314's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book is full of life and joy, celebrating the diverse identities of its main character, Yadriel, while also being honest about the challenges he faces in his different communities. All of the characters are vibrant and lovable, and the magic feels real.
Minorly plot spoilersThe twist at the end was also executed brilliantly and I was unable to stop during some of the final chapters, even though it was way past my bedtime
Minorly plot spoilers
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Death
Minor: Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Death of parent